


Follow My Voice

by Crowned_Ladybug



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Possible Character Death, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 20:29:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12283833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowned_Ladybug/pseuds/Crowned_Ladybug
Summary: Time's running out, the taunting won't stop and Jackie doesn't even know where to begin his search. But he has to try. He only has an hour to save Marvin.Written for markired on Tumblr.





	Follow My Voice

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, here I go, breakin hearts again.
> 
> This was quite the thing to write and I'm still not sure how happy I am with it. Well, I do hope you enjoy anyway.

It's not usual that Jackie lays off his superhero duties for an afternoon, let alone a whole day, but if there's ever a valid reason for him to do so then it's Marvin. Hanging out with Marvin, in this case.

He makes his way to the park with a spring in his step, excited as ever to spend time with his boyfriend. They have nothing particular planned, just the meeting point in the park, same bench as always, and they'll just go from there. Maybe they will spend half the day just wandering in the park, talking and joking around, or maybe they will walk around the city exploring, maybe they will find a nice little café to sit outside and argue whether white or dark chocolate is better. Whichever it shall be, Jackie is looking forward to it. As long as he can spend a peaceful day with Marvin, he's happy.

When he finds the bench, he expects Marvin to already be waiting there. It could technically happen that he got here first, but it's not likely. As scatter-brained as Marvin can be, he's never been anything but punctual when it came to this kind of thing.

What he definitely doesn't expect is a walkie-talkie sitting on the bench with a note of his name attached to it. His mind immediately kicks into overdrive and it's no wonder he's a hero – he's ready to fight goddamn anything if Marvin got hurt. It might just be a simple walkie-talkie, but it's too suspicious to call harmless. His instincts tell him something is very wrong.

He cannot fight a disembodied voice on the other end of the speakers.

When he picks up the walkie-talkie, presses the button on the side and says a stone cold "Hello" into the mic, the response is immediate. The voice that answers him _screams_ evil and it doesn't help calm the alarms in his mind one bit.

"Hmm, Jackieboy," the voice says lazily. "Finally. I've been growing tired of waiting."

"Who are you?" Jackie growls curtly. It's a typical supervillain voice right out of a cheesy movie, but he's not here to play make believe with a potential maniac.

"That is not important. Neither are my motives or sob story, mind you. I don't feel like going into detail right now," they take a short break from talking, and from the quiet groan Jackie guesses they're stretching. What a bastard, being comfortable during a conversation like this. "What is important, however, is that you have one hour to find me and surrender yourself. Am I clear?"

"And why the fuck exactly would I do that?"

"Now, now, Jackieboy," damn, this tone is irritating and Jackie wishes he could slap whoever is talking. "A swearing superhero? Not exactly fitting, is it now? But, to answer your question – I have something I know you would certainly like to get back."

He's about to ask what they mean when the puzzle completes itself in his mind. Marvin...That bastard has Marvin.

When he presses down the button again he's trembling with anger. "Don't you dare hurt him!"

The bastard on the other end of the line laughs. They _laugh_.

"I'm afraid you're already a little too late for that," another short pause, and it makes Jackie's blood boil. "Your sweet boyfriend here is...quite powerful, actually, so I'm afraid we had to take some...rather drastic actions to, uhm, subdue him."

"Marvin!" Jackie screams into the mic as soon as the other end of the line goes silent. He feels like he's about to break down. They took Marvin, they hurt him, God, what if they...what if...

"Oh, he's alive, don't you worry," the voice chuckles once they finally respond. "But if you would like him to stay that way, you come find me within an hour and surrender yourself. Best of luck, Jackieboy," they finish in a sickly sweet tone and then the line goes mute.

Jackie's knees buckle and he has to sit down for a moment to compose himself. They took Marvin, they hurt him, he doesn't even know how bad, and now they want him to find them within a mere hour without giving any clues. That's _impossible_. He's not a superhero, he doesn't have x-ray vision or teleportation or whatever that could help him in this. He's just utterly lost and alone and scared. Gosh, he's so scared.

But he can't just sit on a bench for a whole hour crying over his misfortune. Crying won't save Marvin. He doesn't know a way to succeed, but he has to try. He'd do anything to protect Marvin.

  


It's a wild goose chase, and deep down Jackie knows it's hopeless, but he refuses to give up. He asks everyone around the park, but no one has seen anything suspicious. After that all he knows to do is run from rooftop to rooftop, hoping to find something to help him. Just looking for a sign, anything at all.

In about ten minutes the walkie-talkie he's still clutching in his hand sizzles, then he hears the voice again.

It hurts even more this time.

"Jackieboy, are you there?" there's that sick chuckle again. "I have someone here who would is _dying_ to talk to you."

Before he could respond there's another voice at the end of the line and Jackie can swear his heart shatters.

"J-Jackie..." it's Marvin. Gosh, it's Marvin, and he sounds so hoarse and weak Jackie wants to cry. "Don't...don't listen to them."

Jackie stops and sits down against the nearest chimney, clutching the walkie-talkie in his hand. The button on the other end remains pressed so he can't even respond to Marvin.

"Don't come here, p-please...it's not worth it," he coughs and Jackie flinches at the sound. "Don't give yourself up for me, it's not...not worth it, okay?"

The absence of white noise tells Jackie that he can talk now. And fuck, does he have things to say. "Don't say that, you hear me? Don't you fucking...no, I'm going there and saving you whether you like it or not."

"I'm not...worth that much."

"You're worth the whole goddamn world to me, okay?" he doesn't care that he's only empowering that sick fuck that's got Marvin, he needs to say this. He needs Marvin to know. "You're worth everything. If this asshole wants me to give myself up then so be it, if it means you'll be safe."

"Oh, how sweet," it's that bastard again and Jackie wants to punch a wall. He can hear Marvin's muffled screams in the background and it makes him feel sick. "You better hurry then, huh?" they laugh, and the line goes dead again.

Jackie picks himself up off the ground and gets back on his search. He needs to save Marvin, no matter the cost.

  


When the next call comes in he wants to throw the walkie-talkie to the ground and leave it, but it’s his only connection to Marvin and so he doesn’t.

“He’s quite the tough one, isn’t he?” the voice on the other end muses lazily. “He put up quite a fight when we caught him...he’s still fighting, actually,” the almost bored to tone turns into one of sadistic interest. “But he’s ought to break sometime.”

There’s noises – footsteps, shuffling, a few words Jackie can’t make out...then something that sounds like a punch, then a groan. Then…

“No...” it’s incredibly quiet and the next moment Jackie can hear more punches and groans, but he recognises it as Marvin. His hand tightens around the railing he’s using to hold himself upright.

All noise dies from the speakers and Jackie tentatively presses down on the button on his own walkie-talkie. “Marvin? Is that you? Are you there?” he lets go again, waiting for a response.

“Jackie...” he sounds even weaker than before and Jackie can hear his every breath. But then there’s faint chuckling and Jackie’s worry explodes into anger. He has to get Marvin out of there, now.

“I’m here, it’s okay. I’m coming. I’m going to save you, just,” he sucks in a breath and tries to keep down the panic rising in his chest. He can’t break down, not now. “Just hold on. Please.”

The villain doesn’t talk to him again this time. There’s only a faint click from the other end, then the lines goes silent.

  


Jackie searches in ever-expanding circles starting from the park. He knows Marvin’s kidnapper could have easily loaded him into a car and drove off to a much farther-off location in little time, but he cannot know for sure. He literally doesn’t know anything, he doesn’t know what he’s looking for nor if he’ll know it when he finds it. It’s _hopeless_.

He almost tumbles off the ledge he’s perched on when the next call comes in.

“You know,” the voice on the other side says as if they were just discussing neighbourhood gossip over a cup of tea. “I wonder if he will bleed out before you get here, actually.”

Jackie bites down on his lower lip and tries to hold back his tears. God knows what’s happening to Marvin right now and he’s not there to protect him. He feels like he’s being torn into a thousand pieces and he feels so lost. He’s scared.

“He took the punches and kicks pretty well, he’s definitely a tough one,” they continue like they aren’t talking about literal torture. Jackie listens carefully, tries to hear past their voice for any sign of Marvin, but there isn’t any background noise for him to decipher. “The knife, however...you know, that’s a bit harder to soldier through.”

Jackie wants to scream. He’s crying, the tears blurring his vision no matter how much he wipes at his eyes, and he wants to scream. Leave him alone, give him back, what has he ever done to you, stop hurting him, stop...but there’s no way he could make them listen.

“I think we’ll bandage him up, just a little. Playing with someone unconscious is only half the fun, after all,” Jackie can hear that sickening grin again. He feels like he’s going to throw up.

Finally there’s the little click and Jackie can talk.

“Stop...” he croaks and he doesn’t know where his voice is gone. “Stop, there’s no need for this. There’s no need to keep hurting him, I’m coming to you anyway.”

“That’s the thing Jackieboy. It’s not necessary – but fun things never are,” they chuckle. “We’re just past half time, little hero. Better hurry up!”

The line goes dead once more and Jackie takes off running. Half the time, half an hour more to do this and save Marvin.

  


Jackie almost misses a jump when the walkie-talkie sizzles to life again. He steadies himself, crouches on the roof he just landed on and listens. He’s not sure if his heart will be able to take yet another one of these.

“So, I’ve been wondering...what’s under the magician’s mask?”

Jackie swears his heart misses a beat hearing that. No…

He knows what’s behind Marvin’s mask. Scars, dozens of them, jagged and pale, criss-crossing his face as remnants of an accident that should have taken his sight and maybe his life as well had it not been for his magic. Marvin hates them. Jackie thinks he’s still beautiful.

The scars are the reason Marvin always wears a mask, even Jackie has only seen him without it a handful of times. He’s ashamed of his scars, he hates them, he hates seeing them or letting anyone else see them. If someone were to try to take off his mask Marvin would give them hell, except...now he’s most likely helpless. And Jackie cannot fight for him this time.

“Be dear and hold him still for me. It will ruin the dramatic effect if he keeps squirming around.”

Jackie feels like he’s about to faint. Stop, he wants to scream, stop, don’t do this to him, but the button is still pressed on the other end. He can still hear Marvin’s muffled screaming. He knows they must have tied something around his mouth to keep him quiet. It hurts so damn much to even think about Marvin being so helpless and at this bastard’s mercy.

Punches and kicks and even stabs are one thing, but this? Jackie knows that this would hurt Marvin more than anything before.

The speaker finally goes silent.

“Stop! Don’t do this!” Jackie sobs. He doesn’t have any good reasons to try and persuade that asshole with to stop torturing Marvin. “Please!”

“I’m sorry, am I upsetting you, Jackieboy?” there’s that sick smirk again. “I just can’t help my curiosity!”

The line remains occupied, Jackie can still hear Marvin screaming. He knows he’ll hear it again in his nightmares. Helpless, he can only mumble his pleas to himself. “Don’t...please, don’t...”

Marvin’s screaming gets even louder and Jackie’s blood runs cold. And over it all come the words that make his stomach churn. “My, my...what a pretty sight,” the voice coos, sickeningly sweet. “Certainly more than what I was expecting.”

Why...why would they do this? Jackie is shaking, but he doesn’t notice. He isn’t even sure what he’s feeling anymore, it’s such a confusing mixture of fear and anger and pain, and he only knows that it’s making him sick. Being apart from Marvin is making him sick.

He can’t even hear his screams anymore.

“You chose yourself a pretty one, didn’t you, Jackieboy?”

Jackie barely hears the line go silent over the ringing in his ears. “Marvin...”

“I’m sure he’s going to be fine,” drawls the voice on the other side. “Though for now he doesn’t seem to be in the best of moods.”

“Why...” Jackie’s voice is barely above a whisper.

“No, the question is – why not?” they laugh again. Bastard. “Time’s running out, Jackieboy. Tick tock, tick tock. Your dear Marvin doesn’t have much longer left...I’d hurry if I were you.”

The line is cut off once again.

  


The final time the walkie-talkie comes to life Jackie has to brace himself against a wall.

“I regret to inform you, but,” there’s a short pause, a couple seconds at best. “ _time is up._ ”

All strength drains from Jackie’s arm as he falls against the wall. “No...”

“It’s been a pleasure, Jackieboy. A real shame we never got to meet,” they let out a small chuckle. “Maybe next time?”

“No! Wait!” Jackie screams without checking if the line is free for him to talk. It isn’t. “Don’t!”

There’s footsteps, random noises Jackie can’t place, some voices he cannot make out. He’s trembling and crying, slumping against the wall as he crumbles to the ground. This can’t be happening...there has to be another way, he can’t let this happen, he can’t lose Marvin…

“Your darling Marvin will die knowing that you have failed him.” These are the last words Jackie can hear from the speaker and he can tell whoever is saying them is enjoying themselves.

There’s an agonised scream that Jackie recognises as Marvin, and he flinches violently at the sound, sobbing loudly. “Stop...don’t do this...stop...”

He screams when he hears the gunshot and then the thud of a body hitting the ground. This can’t be...it can’t be…

And the line goes dead for the last time.

  


Jackie picks himself up again, keeps going. He repeats to himself like a mantra – he could have survived the shot, he could have survived the shot, he could have survived…

He searches until he’s utterly lost. The neighbourhood he’s in is unfamiliar and quiet, somewhere in the outskirts. He doesn’t care, he just keeps going and hoping against hope, and honestly he’s not sure how much of his sanity he still has left.

The pain has left him feeling numb and lifeless. They took Marvin. He can’t accept it, it can’t be real, but deep down, beneath the pain and denial he knows it is. In just an hour his life had gone from joyful and bright to a broken one, a disaster, a life not worth living.

He doesn’t know why he’s still searching.

He’s yanked from his thoughts by a tiny flash of light on the other side of the silent street. The sun is setting, he just realises, and he feels dizzy.

Across from him, on the edge of the sidewalk he sees a cat. It’s cute, but then again which cat isn’t. Jackie wants to fall to his knees and cry because cats remind him of Marvin’s mask and by extension Marvin himself, but he remains standing.

The cat doesn’t move for another moment save for the tip of its tale nodding from side to side as it stands, staring at Jackie. It’s a tabby, wearing thick black stripes over a warm brown coat, and just from looking at it Jackie can tell its fur must feel really soft. The green eyes that first caught Jackie’s attention are framed by a round face, and when the cat adjusts its posture Jackie notices a yellow collar around its neck. At least he knows it’s not a stray.

Jackie feels mesmerized, but apparently the cat doesn’t as the next moment it flicks its ear and starts walking down the street at a leisurely pace. Deciding that he has no better lead to follow, Jackie decides to go after it.

The cat doesn’t seem to mind being followed. It quickens its pace every time Jackie gets too close, but it doesn’t run away. Not until they have passed two streets, at least.

The cat rounds the corner into the third one and Jackie follows. There the little creature stops and watches for a moment as the hero catches up. They’re standing outside an abandoned-looking garage, weeds poking out through the cracks in the asphalt and not a single soul in sight. Before Jackie could get closer, the cat jumps on a nearby trashcan and then to the roof, and with one last flick of its tail it disappears from sight.

So much for that hopeless lead, Jackie thinks. At least following a random cat made him forget about his pain for a little while.

It takes him a moment to realise that there’s a strange smell lingering in the air. He tiredly notes that it seems almost metallic, but the next second his instincts kick in and scream “Run!”

It’s blood. And it’s coming from the garage.

He refuses to listen to his instincts. He’s still a hero, even if a broken and useless one, and blood means someone might need his help. He takes a deep breath, then another one and forces his mind to focus before he pushes the half-open garage door up fully. His eyes need a moment to adjust to the shade inside.

His heart almost stops right there when he can finally make out a bloodied figure lying on their back on the floor, unmoving. Just a step’s distance from them there’s something on the ground, carelessly discarded...Jackie’s knees buckle and he has to hold onto the doorframe for balance when he realises that it’s a white mask, shaped like a cat’s head…

Marvin.

He stumbles over to him, scooping up the mask with one hand on his way, and collapses onto his knees next to his body. There’s no way he can hold his tears back now.

Marvin is _alive_. He doesn’t look it at first glance, but he is. His chest rises and falls heavily with every breath, and a small smile tugs at his lips when he recognises Jackie.

“Hey, Jackie...” his voice is hoarse and weak, but he’s alive and strong enough to talk, and that’s all Jackie cares about right now.

“I love you,” Jackie sobs in response because he knows that amongst all the screaming and crying and the race against time he never once got to say it and he’s regretted it a thousand times over while scouring the city.

“I love you, too,” Marvin sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. No matter how happy he is that Jackie is there, he’s still in a lot of pain.

Jackie wipes his eyes clumsily with the back of his hand. His gaze traces the dozens of scars around Marvin’s eyes, shiny, pale lines running across his skin. He’s not repulsed by them but seeing them now breaks his heart knowing how they have been revealed. His hands fumble with the mask he picked up.

“Here, I’ve got your mask,” he reaches to place it on Marvin’s face as if it was the most important thing to do right now (maybe in a way it is), but Marvin turns his head away with a small smile.

“It’s okay. It’s only you and me now, it can stay off.”

“Okay...okay,” Jackie mumbles. He feels disoriented and he wants to do something, he needs to, but his mind draws a blank. He takes a deep breath and shudders as he lets it out, and Marvin just watches him in silence.

There’s a lot of blood, on the ground and staining Marvin’s clothes, but it’s less than what Jackie had expected. As he looks Marvin over he loses count of all the cuts and the bruises that have just started appearing. But he also notices that most of the cuts have started to scab over and close up on their own – though they’re still bleeding they have started healing unnaturally fast even without being treated. Lastly he notes with relief that he cannot see any wounds caused by a bullet.

“What happened?” Jackie breathes, a tamer version of “How are you alive?”

Marvin hears it anyway. He knows Jackie too well, maybe better than himself. “’S magic, bro,” he chuckles at his own bad humour. “’Nd I didn’t even have my cape.”

Jackie gives a little laugh as he wipes at his face again. That’s the best he can do for now. He knows Marvin has quite the unique sense of humour, but Jackie can’t find it in himself to laugh when he’s still bleeding out in front of him.

“No, seriously...”

“It is magic though,” Marvin says, calmer. He notices that Jackie is shaking and wants to reach for his hand but his arm won’t obey him. Wow, that’s frustrating.

“You know what, uh...” Jackie cuts in with an apologetic look. “You can tell me on the way back home, okay? I don’t wanna stay here any longer.”

“Understandable.”

Jackie curses Marvin’s ability to be nonchalant even while severely wounded and bleeding to death.

He hands Marvin his mask before gathering him up into his arms. Marvin hisses with pain a dozen times in the process, and Jackie keeps mumbling apologies and words of comfort whenever he does. In the end Jackie still stands, a bit wobbly with exhaustion but still holding Marvin securely against his chest. Marvin looks much closer to passing out than he did before and Jackie’s worry for him flares.

“I changed my mind, you can just tell me everything later,” Jackie offers as he starts towards the garage door.

“Nah, I’m...good...” but he sounds so weak and out of breath that he knows he’s not fooling Jackie.

“You certainly don’t look like you are.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Jackie tightens his hold on him and presses a kiss into his hair. “Shush.”

He isn’t sure what he’s going to do. It’s almost completely dark, they’re far away from home and he can’t take Marvin to a hospital, not with magically healing wounds and cradled by a superhero. He’s about to ask Marvin for ideas when he beats him to it.

“Just...gimme a second...” he closes his eyes and rests his head against Jackie’s chest. “I gotta gather my strength but...I can teleport us home.”

“There’s absolutely no way I’m letting you do that.”

“It’s either that, Jackieboy,” Marvin breathes, and Jackie knows he’s serious when he calls him “Jackieboy”. “...or you’re carrying me...across the city...at night, on your own.”

Jackie doesn’t answer for a bit. He wishes there was another way, one that wouldn’t sap Marvin’s energy even further but Marvin is right – there’s no other way. “Just be careful.”

“I’ll be fine...just don’t...let go of me and I’ll...be fine...”

“I won’t,” he kisses the top of Marvin’s head again. “Not in a thousand years.”

“Wow, cheesy,” Marvin huffs weakly and Jackie curses his everlasting sense of humour.

“I spent my day trying to rescue you from a supervillain and now I’m carrying you home bridal style, Marvin, I think I’m allowed to be cheesy.”

“Fine, fine,” he gives in. He closes his eyes again and his body grows tense in Jackie’s arms as he braces himself to use his magic. Before Jackie could ask him if he’s okay it’s already over and he’s standing in the middle of their living room, an unconscious Marvin in his arms.

  


It takes most of Jackie’s knowledge of first aid and all of their bandages to patch Marvin up. It’s messy and exhausting and there’s a lot of blood, but Jackie knows there’s no one else to do it and so he does. By the end of it he’s shaking and crying, and he feels like he’s going to fall over any minute, and Marvin doesn’t wake up for a second. Jackie curses him, lovingly and without ill intentions of course.

Now Jackie is sitting on the floor next to the bed Marvin is lying on. He’s taken a quick shower and changed into regular clothes and almost had a breakdown over accidentally grabbing the flannel shirt Marvin would steal from him the most. He’s wearing it now. Apparently Marvin had been the last one to wear it, because it smells like him.

“Hey.”

It doesn’t even startle Jackie when Marvin wakes and first speaks to him. Maybe he’s just too tired. He’s leaning against the edge of the bed now, head on his arms and drying tears on his cheeks, blinking slowly up at Marvin. He reaches his hand out towards him, absently thumbing at the darkening lines under his eyes. Marvin leans into his touch.

“Hey. Feeling better?”

“A bit, yeah,” he sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. Damn, he’s tired. “I didn’t lie though, it _was_ magic.”

Jackie sits up straighter to listen, propping his head up on his hand that isn’t busy stroking Marvin’s face. He’s waiting for the moment Marvin tells him off for being cheesy again.

“They beat me up enough...so that I couldn’t use magic...on my own,” his breathing is heavy and it’s hard to talk, but he won’t give up trying. “But magic...it’s instinct. It happens on instinct. The bullet, it...never reached me. I had just enough magic...the very last moment...to make it disappear to save...myself.”

His head rolls to the side tiredly. He closes his eyes, concentrates on his breathing for a moment and tries to gather his strength to keep on talking. Jackie watches him silently, not wanting to interrupt.

“I...pretended it hit but...I passed out...don’t know how I got to where...you found...me,” Marvin coughs weakly. “I guess I still had...enough magic left...in me to start h-healing me...so I wouldn’t bleed out...I guess...”

“You should rest,” Jackie decides to end it there. “ _Please_ rest.”

“Fine,” the corners of his lips still quirk upward. Jackie just gives him a scolding look he’s not sure Marvin can really understand right now.

“I’ll stay, okay?”

“You’d better,” Marvin tries for a laugh but fails. He knows he must be driving Jackie insane at this point.

“Shut up and sleep,” Jackie groans as he pushes himself up and Marvin can swear he can hear him muttering “ass” under his breath. He squeezes himself into the thin space between Marvin’s body and the wall, and drapes an arm across his stomach, careful to avoid his wounds. He then presses a kiss to Marvin’s forehead, then another onto the bridge of his nose and the scars running across there. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

Marvin doesn’t respond. He can’t move around much, but he turns his head towards Jackie and one of his hands finds grip on his arm as he drifts off to sleep. Jackie watches with gentle eyes as his body finally relaxes.

“Goodnight,” Jackie murmurs, curling as close to him as he can without touching. “I love you.”

He wishes he had the energy to sit vigil by his bedside, but he just doesn’t. He knows there will probably be nightmares for both of them, maybe not tonight but in the coming days and weeks. He knows in the morning he will feel like absolute shit. He knows he will cry his eyes out, tear himself apart for being such a horrible hero and boyfriend, for letting Marvin get hurt. He knows there’s a long path of (hopefully) healing ahead the both of them.

But he will cross that bridge when he gets there.


End file.
